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Thursday, March 31, 2016

I'm delighted to be taking part in this event next month. If you're close by, it would be great to see you there, with fellow crime writers John Connolly, Andrew Pepper and Richard Godwin....

CRIME FICTION – BLUECOAT CENTRE for Contemporary Arts - LIVERPOOL

(Saturday 16th April 2016 - 1.00 PM - 6.00 PM)

How do we account for the continued popularity of crime fiction? Is it the immediacy with which it can reflect the concerns and obsessions of society? Or the safe place it offers from which to explore the darker sides of humanity? Or that the narrative propulsion of a tightly-woven crime plot can be a source of licensed thrills, pleasure and comforting reassurance?

Contemporary crime fiction encompasses an extensive range of thematic concerns, literary styles and distinctive settings. Join crime writers for conversations about their work, influences and current perspectives on the genre starting with a reading by award-winning author John Connolly.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

I'm delighted to be doing a WEEK LONG INTENSIVE CRIME FICTION COURSE in August at the Irish Writers Centre. Please don't let the scary eyes put you off!!The course will be suitable for all writers interested in the genre, including those who have done introductory classes before!! Clickedy click HERE for more details..

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Louise Phillips talks Making A Murderer as we launch book giveaway

Queen of Irish crime fiction Louise Phillips said Steven Avery from Making A Murderer’s guilt is “questionable” – as she reveals her latest book has similarities to the hit Netflix show.

Phillips – who is offering three Ireland Today readers her latest book The Game Changer – spoke about Avery, imprisoned for the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2007, as his legal team claimed he will be exonerated within months.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Invitation from O'Brien Press - Join us for the launch of All Things Nice by Sheila Bugler on Thursday April 7th in The Gutter Bookshop, Dublinat 6.30 pm. Award winning author Louise Phillips is attending as guest speaker. Should be a great evening for crime thriller fans!

Friday, March 11, 2016

CAROUSEL AWARE PRIZE for INDEPENDENTLY PUBLISHED AUTHORS - will close on the 29th April 2016!!! This competition is for all non-traditionally published books with ISBNs published in the last five years. (Limited to those resident in Northern/Southern Ireland)

The cost of entry is €50, most of which will go directly to mental health charity Aware. The Competition is sponsored by DUBRAY BOOKS & EASONS.....GET SUBMITTING FOLKS!! Full Details here.....http://writingcap.ie/

The 6 categories are: Best Novel to be judged by International Bestselling Author Jax Miller.

Best Short Story Anthology to be judged by Bord Gáis Award Winning Author Louise Phillips.

Best Non-Fiction Book to be judged by Books Ireland Magazine Editor Tony Canavan

Best Poetry Anthology to be judged by Award Winning Poet and Writer Eileen Casey.

Best Young Adult Book to be judged by Bestselling Young Adult Novelist Claire Hennessy.

Best Junior Book to be judged by Novelist Carolann Copland in conjunction with St. Comcille’s Junior National School, Knocklyon.

Carolann Copland of Carousel Creates says, "These awards aim to provide a platform to showcase the cream of Irish Self-Published authors, bringing them to the attention of book shops, distributors and the media in Ireland and abroad. Self-publishing is changing the face of publishing world wide and we think that Ireland could do with a little nudge to help it along."

Thursday, March 10, 2016

There was a terrific Book Event with Penguin Ireland at 37 Dawson Street this month. The idea behind the evening was for authors with novels coming out this year, to connect with book bloggers. I saw many familiar faces there, and it was terrific to be in a room with writers and book lovers.

I caught up with three Irish Crime Writers, all female, and two of which are debut novelists. The first, was Vanessa Rohan, the second, was Bernice Barrington, and the third is an author well known to many of you, Liz Nugent, author of Unravelling Oliver.

All of the upcoming novels sound great, and I can't wait to get stuck into reading them. So here's a taster for you all.....

The Last Days of Summer - Vanessa Rohan, 5th May 2016

She can forgive. They can't forget.

After ten years in the Huntsville State Penitentiary, Jasper Curtis returns home to live with his sister and her two daughters. Lizzie does not know who she's letting into her home: the brother she grew up loving or the monster he became.

Teenage Katie distrusts this strange man in their home but eleven-year-old Joanne is just intrigued by her new uncle.

Jasper says he's all done with trouble, but in a forgotten prairie town that knows no forgiveness, it does not take long for trouble to arrive at their door ...

Sisters and Lies - Bernice Barrington - 24th March 2016

One hot August night, Rachel Darcy gets the call everyone fears. It's the police. Her younger sister Evie's had a car crash, she's in a coma. Can Rachel fly to London right away?

With Evie injured and comatose, Rachel is left to pick up the pieces of her sister's life. But it's hard fitting them together, especially when she really doesn't like what she sees.

Why was Evie driving when she doesn't even own a licence?

Who is the man living in her flat and claiming Evie is his girlfriend?

How come she has never heard of him?

The more mysteries Rachel uncovers the more she starts asking herself how well she ever really knew her sister. And then she begins to wonder if the crash was really the accident everybody says it is.

Back in hospital, Evie, trapped inside an unresponsive body, is desperately trying to wake up. Because she's got an urgent message for Rachel - a warning which could just save both their lives . . .

Lying in Wait - Liz Nugent - 7th July 2016

The last people who expect to be meeting with a drug-addicted prostitute are a respected judge and his reclusive wife. And they certainly don't plan to kill her and bury her in their exquisite suburban garden.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

It is seldom that I read
a novel and want to shout about it from the rooftops, but Black Rabbit Hall is
one such book. Beautifully written with overtones of Daphne Du Maurier’s, Rebecca,
it pulls you in like a magnet, and at times, it’s as if you’re under a spell.

I preferred the story of
the Alton children to that of Lorna, but as the novel progressed, Lorna earned
her worthy place within the pages.

An utterly engaging
fictional world with wonderfully drawn characters, a great sense of place and
atmosphere, whilst peppered with magical prose. This book is laden with family
secrets, it has both depth and soul, ensuring you will truly forget about the
real world as you get deeper and deeper into Black Rabbit Hall.

A certainty for my
favourite book shelf, despite being able to predict some of the secrets before
they were revealed, and unusually for me, I will read Black Rabbit Hall over
and over again. A modern day classic in my humble opinion, and I don’t say that
lightly.

ABOUT THE BOOK

One
golden family. One fateful summer. Four lives changed forever.

Amber Alton knows that the hours pass differently at Black Rabbit Hall, her
London family's country estate where no two clocks read the same. Summers there
are perfect, timeless. Not much ever happens. Until, one stormy evening in
1968, it does.

The idyllic world of the four Alton children is shattered.
Fiercely bonded by the tragic events, they grow up fast. But when a glamorous
stranger arrives, these loyalties are tested. Forbidden passions simmer. And
another catastrophe looms...

Decades later, Lorna and her fiancé wind their way through the
countryside searching for a wedding venue. Lorna is drawn to a beautiful
crumbling old house she hazily remembers from her childhood, feels a bond she
does not understand. When she finds a disturbing message carved into an old oak
tree by one of the Alton children, she begins to realise that Black Rabbit
Hall's secret history is as dark and tangled as its woods, and that, much like
her own past, it must be brought into the light.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

I'll be doing a week long Intensive Crime Fiction workshop at the Irish Writers Centre in August. The
course will have places for 12 participants, who will meet daily for two blocks
of three-hour sessions (9.45 am – 12.45 pm & 14.00 pm – 17.00 pm). The dates are Monday the 14th August - Friday the 19th August. The modules within the course are suitable for all writers interested in the genre, including those who have done an introductory course in the past.Full details to follow, but if you're interested, put a note in your diary!!

Louise Phillipsis an
author of four bestselling psychological crime thrillers, each shortlisted for the
Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Her second novel, THE DOLL’S HOUSE, won the
award in 2013. Louise’s work has formed
part of many literary anthologies, and is the recipient
of an arts bursary for literature. In 2015, she was awarded a writers’
residency at Cill Rialaig Artist retreat, and she was also a judge on the Irish
panel for the EU Literary Award. Her latest novel, THE GAME CHANGER, was published in September 2015 to critical acclaim,
and her first two novels, RED RIBBONS and THE DOLL’S HOUSE will be published in
the US in 2016 and 2017.

THE GAME CHANGER

Irish Judge EU Prize for Literature 2015

Amazon Number 1 Bestseller in Irish Crime Fiction

The Game Changer

Irish Independent Review of LAST KISS

Click Image to View "Last Kiss is superior and takes her writing to another, more intense level - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."

San Francisco Book Review - LAST KISS

Click Image to View "Phillips is certainly equal to James Patterson, Sara Paretsky, and Patricia Cornwell. LAST KISS has echoes of Basic Instincts, however Phillips takes it to much more interesting places."

Sunday Independent - Queens of the Irish Crime Scene

"Phillips is superb at suspense and at conjuring up a dark menacing atmosphere."

BBC Radio Ulster - LAST KISS

“Once you start reading, you have to keep going. Phillips deserves to be known well beyond these shores. This is not just an Irish Crime thriller-it’s among the best crime writing in the world- top notch thriller."

EURO CRIME - LAST KISS

“This book is superb! A chilling and original storyline about nature versus nurture, it has you hooked right from the very first page - It has an ending that you just can't see coming!" Highly Recommended”

IRISH TIMES - LAST KISS

"The blend of first and third-person narratives gives the story great pace...Phillips is exploring the dark matter of damaged sexual identity…. the abiding impression is of the empathy Phillips evokes on behalf of her lethal but fragile anti-heroine."

Mansion House, Dublin

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2015

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2014

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2013

WINNER of BEST IRISH CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2013 - IRISH BOOK AWARDS

CLICK IMAGE TO ORDER

Praise for The Doll's House

‘A real page turner - Phillips’ book is laced with tension and gradually builds to a thrilling finale. What’s particularly great about the novel is the author’s fearlessness in delving into the darker recesses of the Irish capital.’